Are you excluding your audience?

In part three of our accessibility series, we explore the unintentional barriers ticketing purchase pathways can create and the benefits of an accessible purchase path on user journeys.

Your ticketing pathway is a digital barrier

Sophisticated technology isn’t always inclusive or accessible. While digital platforms are designed to streamline operations and improve efficiency, they often rely on a user’s confidence and familiarity with online systems. This can unintentionally create barriers, especially for users who find digital systems intimidating or inaccessible.

Many ticketing systems often assume that users:

• Can navigate multiple steps in an online purchase
• Understand ticketing terminology and pricing
• Speak English as their first language
• Do not require assistive technologies
• Have prior experience with arts and cultural venues

Is your ticketing pathway designed around your users? 

Without user-centred design, what should be an exciting cultural experience can quickly become frustrating, before someone even reaches the door. 

Many friction points can disrupt a user’s ticketing journey at key moments in the purchasing process. These can include:

• Long or confusing checkout flows 
• Hidden fees revealed late in the journey
• Mandatory account creation before purchase 
• Difficult to navigate seat plans and seat selection tools 
• Lack of clear, visible access information
• Poor compatibility with assistive technologies

These barriers don’t just affect users – they also have a direct impact on your organisation.  When users struggle to navigate your booking pathway and complete a booking, they are more likely to abandon their purchase altogether. Over time, this can reduce conversion rates, increase basket abandonment and shape how your organisation is perceived – leaving some audiences feeling excluded or unwelcome.

What you can do:

• Use clear, plain language throughout the journey
• Make sure the experience works seamlessly across multiple devices, including assistive and accessible technologies
• Support different languages and cultural contexts
• Minimise unnecessary steps and friction points
• Design for a wide range of abilities and levels of digital confidence
• Prioritise simplicity as a core design principle

The importance of user testing

At Substrakt, we see the user journey as central to an organisation’s relationship with its audience. When building Viadukt  –  our accessible online ticketing platform  –  we worked closely with users (with and without access needs) and a number of cultural organisations to make sure it delivered on the key principles discussed here: reducing friction in the customer journey, supporting diverse audiences and offering a more accessible experience for everyone. 

Next in the series, we will explore why accessibility information itself can be hard to find, and how making it more visible can build confidence before audiences even arrive.